Aslantaş ve Yılantaş

Aslantaş and Yılantaş are two monumental Phrygian rock-cut tombs standing side by side in the Göynüş Valley, in the region known as Mountainous Phrygia in the İhsaniye district of Afyonkarahisar. In the sources the valley also appears under the names Köhnüş and Kohnüş. The tombs lie about 11 kilometres east of the town of İhsaniye and about 30 kilometres north of the centre of Afyonkarahisar. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that the valley is reached by leaving the Afyon-Eskişehir highway and following a short side road. Knowing the background of the region makes the two monuments easier to read. According to the Governorship of Afyonkarahisar, Phrygian rule was re-established in the rocky and wooded country around Yazılıkaya and İhsaniye after the Gordion-centred order collapsed under the Cimmerian attack around 660 BC. The Göynüş Valley is one of the densest monument areas of this second period. Besides Aslantaş and Yılantaş, the valley also holds an open-air cult place called Maltaş and, in its middle, a rock mass known as Köhnüş Kale. Aslantaş takes its name, which means Lion Stone, from the lion reliefs on its facade. The two sides and the front of the single rock block, about 11 metres high, have been flattened. On either side of the small door of the burial chamber stand two large lions facing each other with their forelegs raised. The Culture Portal notes that there is a lion cub beneath the feet of each lion; these cubs are badly worn today. Above the door a mass resembling a tree of life is carved in relief, and above it a winged sun disc spreads out to both sides. Steps have been cut into the upper part of the rock. The ceiling of the burial chamber inside is slightly vaulted, and on the left there is a small cell with the couch, or kline, on which the dead was laid. Aslantaş is thought to have belonged to an important Phrygian king. The Culture Portal dates the monument to the 7th century BC. The English Wikipedia reports that two dates are debated, the early 8th century and the late 7th century BC, and that the later date is usually preferred because of the ornate facade and the small entrance. Yılantaş lies to the west of Aslantaş, within the same rocks and, according to the sources, some 70 to 80 metres away. This tomb, thought to have belonged to a noble, was larger and more impressive than Aslantaş. However, the rock into which it was carved was probably split and toppled by a natural cause, and today it looks like a shattered block. On one of the fragments the head and paws of a lion relief can still be made out. There are different explanations of where the name, which means Snake Stone, comes from. The Culture Portal writes that above the door there is a relief of two intertwined snakes and two warriors attacking them with spears, and that this part is hidden beneath the overturned rock. The English Wikipedia, on the other hand, reports that local people took the eroded lion claws for snake heads and that the name comes from this. The same source states that on the entrance facade two warriors with helmets, shields and spears stand as if guarding the door, with a Gorgon head between them. The back and left walls of the ruined burial chamber can still be seen on the bedrock. The rafters of the pitched roof are carved in relief on the ceiling. The Culture Portal dates the tomb to around 700 BC on the basis of the palm-leaf column capital on the kline, while the Dutch archaeologist C. H. E. Haspels proposed the 6th century BC. The first place to look in the valley is the facade of Aslantaş. Study the bodies of the lions, the sun disc above the door and the flat cut on the sides of the rock both close up and from a little distance. Then walk west to the scattered fragments of Yılantaş and look for the remains of the lion paw. The record made by the Swedish photographer Guillaume Berggren, who photographed Yılantaş in the 1870s, is one of the early documents showing the rock as it was 150 years ago. If you have time you can also go on to Maltaş, about 500 metres away. Maltaş is a large carved facade with a niche in the southwest corner of the valley, and it is well preserved because it lay under soil until recently. The Göynüş Valley also lies on the Phrygian Way hiking trail, which starts at Seydiler in Afyonkarahisar and runs to Yazılıkaya in Eskişehir. Marked with red and white signs, the trail passes through the valley and continues north towards Döğer. There is no road to every part of the valley and you walk between fields, so sturdy shoes and a supply of water are a good idea. As there is little shade, the morning and late afternoon are more comfortable than summer noon. For visiting conditions and possible arrangements, check the current announcements of the Afyonkarahisar Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism. Do not climb the monuments or touch the reliefs; the soft tuff rock wears away easily.